Still pending review, a recent analysis reveals that the sea lions had been infected by H5N1 — but whether this was also what killed them has yet to be confirmed. A dead dolphin found in the north in the region of Piura was also shown to be infected with the virus. The deadly infections increase concerns that the virus may be able to spread from one mammal to another — though that is also unconfirmed at the moment — and may be able to infect people as well.
Farmers in trouble
The outbreak affecting the pelicans, cormorants and boobies is also affecting a particular sector of the local economy: guano harvesting. The birds’ dried, compacted excrement is a prized fertilizer in agriculture. “These three species produce around 86,000 tons of guano per year, which is roughly worth $50 million,” says biologist Daniel Plazas-Jiménez, from the Unitrópico University in Colombia.
Plazas-Jiménez says the guano’s importance far exceeds its monetary value. “In Peru, most guano is sold to organic or traditional farmers, many from Indigenous communities, at a price that is low in comparison to that of inorganic fertilizers. In 2021, the Peruvian authorities planned to extract around 25,000 tons to provide for more than 40,000 families. Many people need guano to keep their organic certifications and often have few economic resources to buy other fertilizers. So this also affects their food security.”
“The guano industry in Peru is not industrial,” Zavalaga adds, “it’s very local. For example, last year only two islands in Peru were under guano harvesting. This year, I think they were planning [to harvest on] three or four [other islands].” He doubts whether the virus can survive in the harsh environment presented by the guano itself. “I’d be more afraid that live birds would pass the virus to humans, either on the islands or on the mainland beaches, where there are also dead animals. It’s summer now, so many people go there.”
A team of the Peruvian National Service of Natural Areas Protected by the State (SERNANP) investigating a beach where dead birds have been reported. Image courtesy of SERNANP.
In response to the outbreak, the Peruvian Ministry of Health has declared a 90-day state of emergency to prevent the virus from infecting people. According to Inga Díaz, measures include banning the collection of guano, advising against handling wild animals and using high-risk beaches, and training park rangers to monitor animal health.
Condors at risk
Local governments have sent teams wearing personal protective equipment to collect the carcasses found on beaches and bury them, says Zavalaga. He worries, however, that “on the islands, where the main colonies are found, there is a lack of adequate disposal of the carcasses.” As long as few people are allowed to go there, the risk of human infection is low. But in the meantime, dead and sick birds do pose an infection risk to other birds and mammals that share their habitat, and scavengers that feed on them.
That includes a very iconic and vulnerable one, the Andean condor (Vultur gryphus), says Gamarra-Toledo, who is studying how the condor’s feeding behavior exposes it to pollution. “We are very concerned about the possible fatal consequences of this outbreak on this species.”
Peruvian pelicans (top) (Pelecanus thagus) and Peruvian boobies (bottom) (Sula variegata) on the Islas Ballestas, off Peru’s south coast. Both species are considered to be endangered in Peru, and thousands have died in the recent avian flu outbreaks. Image via Wikimedia Commons.
“We’ve found there is a population of Andean condors feeding mainly on sea lions, but sometimes also on dead pelicans,” says Sergio Lambertucci, an ornithologist at the Universidad Nacional del Comahue in Argentina. “Andean condors may be feeding on the coastline in the morning and roosting in the high mountains in the evening, 4,000 meters [13,120 feet] above sea level.” He also worries about turkey vultures, which roam more or less across the continent and might spread the disease even if it doesn’t kill them. “We are trapping them in Argentina now to find out.”
Bird migration is probably at the root of the outbreak, says Zavalaga, as the virus appears to have arrived with birds migrating from North America in spring, though the exact routes or culprits have not been identified. “Since the first report in mid-November, the deaths have not stopped,” he adds. “Animals are still dying on the islands. What kind of conservation measures are we going to take? I don’t see anything like a strategy for that yet.”
Gamarra-Toledo agrees that monitoring outbreaks and burying dead birds may not be enough to save them. “We should also reduce human impacts that negatively affect them — environmental pollution, habitat loss and the overexploitation of resources — so we can give these birds a better chance of survival.”
Citations:
Gamarra-Toledo, V., Plaza, P. I., Gutiérrez, R., Luyo, P., Hernani, L., Angulo, F., & Lambertucci, S. A. (2023). Avian flu threatens Neotropical birds. Science, 379(6629), 246–246. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adg2271
Wille, M., & Barr, I. G. (2022). Resurgence of avian influenza virus. Science, 376(6592), 459–460. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abo1232
Gamarra-Toledo, V., Plaza, P. I., Inga, G., Gutiérrez, R., García-Tello, O., Valdivia-Ramírez, L.,
Huamán-Mendoza, D., Nieto-Navarrete, J. C., Ventura, S., & Lambertucci, S. A. (2023). First mass mortality of marine mammals caused by highly pathogenic influenza virus (H5n1) in south america [Preprint]. Pathology. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.02.08.527769
Gamarra-Toledo, V., Plaza, P. I., Peña, Y. A., Bermejo, P. A., López, J., Cano, G. L., Barreto, S., Cáceres-Medina, S., & Lambertucci, S. A. (2023). High incidence of plastic debris in Andean condors from remote areas: Evidence for marine-terrestrial trophic transfer. Environmental Pollution, 317, 120742. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2022.120742
Banner image: Some of Peru’s beaches are now off limits because of an outbreak of avian flu among sea birds. Image courtesy of SERNANP.
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Conservation, Endangered Species, Infectious Wildlife Disease, Marine Animals, Marine Birds, Marine Mammals, Protected Areas, Seabirds, Wildlife Conservation, Zoonotic Diseases
Latin America, Peru, South America
Source link : https://news.mongabay.com/2023/02/avian-flu-hits-peru-killing-thousands-of-sea-birds-and-infecting-some-marine-mammals/
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Publish date : 2023-02-16 03:00:00
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